'James Rosen: The Artist and the Capable Observer' Exhibit Final Week

This is the final week at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) for the highly regard exhibition James Rosen: The Artist and the Capable Observer.

The survey of paintings, drawings, and prints by a master American artist concludes its extended run this weekend. The last day for the exhibition is Sunday, Feb. 13.

Visit this exceptionally beautiful exhibition that, in the words of Riverfront Times art critic Jessica Baran, invites viewers to take "time for contemplation, time for consideration, time for appreciation."

MOCRA is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Admission is free. Call 314-977-7170 or visit mocra.slu.edu for more information.

The exhibit surveys Rosen's six-decade career and consists of more than 100 works, including his homage to some of the great works of Western art.

The Artist and the Capable Observer opens Sept. 26, and continues through Feb. 13.

American artist James Rosen has produced a body of visually arresting paintings, watercolors and drawings that gently invite viewers to stay a while.

Rosen seeks "capable observers" who bring to bear their own intellect and imagination in order to observe poetic images that are conducive to quiet contemplation.

The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) is fortunate to have more than 100 Rosen works either in its collection or on long-term loan. His work has been included in many of MOCRA's group exhibitions over the years and never fails to draw appreciative comments from visitors.

Drawing primarily on these works, The Artist and the Capable Observer presents work from the 1950s to the present, offering viewers the opportunity to observe Rosen's visual journey through paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints.

The exhibition culminates with a series of oil/wax-oil emulsion paintings that are homages to the religious art of the European past. Rosen is especially drawn to some of the great European religious masterworks by artists such as Duccio and Grunewald.

Painted with up to 60 thin layers or "veils" of oil paint and wax, these works possess a sense of mystery as they slowly disclose themselves to the patient and attentive observer.

Rosen notes, "My paintings are about time. They have up to 60 veils of wax/oil and they have taken me sometimes a year to finish. They require time of the viewer as well. Only by spending time with the work, looking at it in subdued lighting, does one experience the work beginning to reveal itself to the viewer."

ABOUT JAMES ROSENJames Rosen has had a distinguished career as an artist and lecturer.

Educated at Cooper Union, Wayne State University, and Cranbrook Academy of Art, he has taught at the University of Hawaii, the University of California - Berkeley, Augusta College, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

He has exhibited widely and his works are in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Whitney, and the Ashmolean Museum.

Influenced by artist Mark Rothko and art historian Meyer Schapiro, Rosen's work demonstrates his keen understanding of art history, mastery of form, and ability to imbue canvases with mystery. He is represented by Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, and the Leyton Gallery, St. John', Newfoundland.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS ART (MOCRA) Since 1993, Saint Louis University's Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) has explored the ongoing dialogue between contemporary artists and the world's faith traditions.

Housed in a spacious former seminary chapel, the museum has mounted more than 35 exhibitions involving more than 160 artists.

MOCRA's exhibitions have demonstrated the range of contemporary religious and spiritual artistic expression, presenting the work of artists who have attained recognition regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Some work overtly pays homage to particular faith traditions while other works are more oblique but nonetheless spiritual in content.

The media employed have varied from traditional materials such as oil, acrylic, and ink, to non-traditional materials such as blood, earth, mylar, and helium.